The National Fire Agency said on Apr. 8 that it held the "2026 119 Master Saver awards ceremony and Firefighting Hero Guardian Fund presentation" with S-Oil and the Korea National Council on Social Welfare.
The 119 Master Saver was given to the top paramedic who earned all of the Heart Saver for saving a cardiac arrest patient, the Brain Saver for rescuing an acute stroke patient, and the Trauma Saver for improving the survival rate of a severe trauma patient last year. A total of 40 people were selected this year.
Awardees were highly recognized for reviving cardiac arrest patients on site by using CPR and automated external defibrillators, quickly identifying stroke symptoms such as hemiparesis and dysarthria to connect patients to treatment, and providing essential emergency care to severe trauma patients, including those with multiple fractures or fall accidents, thereby protecting lives.
The Firefighting Hero Guardian Fund was also delivered. Since their first memorandum of understanding in 2006, the National Fire Agency, S-Oil, and the Korea National Council on Social Welfare have raised about 560 million won each year. As of the end of last year, 10.7 billion won had been provided to a total of 1,736 people.
Representative programs include awards for hero firefighters and 119 Master Savers; 2 million won in medical support for on-duty injuries to firefighters; operation of couples' rest camps; 3 million won in scholarships for the children of fallen firefighters; and 30 million won in condolence payments to bereaved families.
National Fire Agency Commissioner Kim Seung-ryong said, "I pay deep respect to the dedication of the paramedics who created miracles of precious lives at urgent disaster scenes," and added, "We will continue to improve working conditions so that members can focus solely on field operations, and we will do our utmost to enhance the welfare of fire officials by strengthening close cooperation with private corporations."